Snoring in preschool children - Prevalence and association with nocturnal cough and asthma

Introduction: The association between snoring, nocturnal cough, and allergic symptoms in young children is not known. Objective: To measure the prevalence of habitual snoring and its association with nocturnal cough, asthma, and hay fever in preschool children. Setting: A cross-sectional study. Subjects: Preschool children aged 2 to 5 years. Method: The data were collected in a cross-sectional study. A total of 974 children were randomly selected from two areas of Lismore and Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Australia. Results: The prevalence of snoring was 10.5%, with no gender difference (p = 0.99) or trend association with age (p = 0.58). The association between snoring and nocturnal cough was highly significant (odds ratio [OR], 3.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.41 to 5.63; p = 0.001). This association was significant in both the nonasthmatic and asthmatic groups when examined separately. Snoring was also significantly associated with asthma (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.34 to 3.10; p = 0.001). In subjects without hay fever, the association between snoring and asthma was also highly significant (41.2% vs 24.8%; OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.34 to 3.37; p = 0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of snoring in preschool children was 10.5% for both genders. Snoring was significantly associated with both nocturnal cough and asthma. Because snoring, asthma, and nocturnal cough may have a common etiology, it is possible that effective treatment of one symptom may lead to reductions in the presence or severity of the other symptoms.